Eyes on Raleigh

To date, technologies such as flash-OFDM, S-CDMA and UMTS-TDD have not received much respect as 3G alternatives in the U.S. market. Certainly, it is no fault of the marketing departments at the three vendors that champion these solutions — Flarion Technologies, Navini Networks and IPWireless, respectively. Any carrier (or magazine reporter covering carriers) will tell you these companies have been energetic, to say the least, about stating their cases.

Still, while each solution has seen some limited commercial deployment outside the U.S., its has been difficult for them to get past the lab-testing phase inside the U.S. This probably has less to do with the commercial readiness of these technologies than it does with the fact that most U.S. carriers view their infrastructure technology choices as all-or-nothing religious commitments. They have made their choices, either CDMA2000 or GSM/GPRS/EDGE, and they're sticking to them.

But there is a shake-up underway, courtesy of Nextel Communications, the carrier that seems to specialize in shake-ups. Nextel is currently involved in a trial of Flarion's flash-OFDM solution in Raleigh, N.C. (There also have been rumors that Nextel is testing technology from at least one of the firms mentioned above).

While the Raleigh field-test sounds like just another technology trial of one of the forgotten broadband wireless technologies, it could be the big break these 3G alternatives have been waiting for. While not necessarily making a commitment for broad commercial deployment, Nextel also hasn't made any other decisions about its 3G evolution, so it has no previous religious commitments that would be violated.

Also, the carrier is testing a theoretical business model — the idea that it could deliver broadband for $20 or less per month, making the service an alternative to DSL and cable modems for home users.

So, Nextel is garnering not only the notice of its direct mobile competitors, but also the wary attention of telcos that have done little with broadband wireless thus far except dabble in tests while their potential vendors struggled to stay in business.

The next few months could determine what Nextel does with 3G, and will certainly determine whether other U.S. carriers give flash-OFDM, S-CDMA or UMTS-TDD another look.